Apparatus for the manufacture of axles



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. AIKBN. APPARATUS POR THB MANUPAGTURB 0F AXLES.

Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

i mw NN A N PETERS. Phokolmgrnpher, Washngmn. D. C.

(No Modem (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. AIKBN. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUPAGTURE 0F AXLES. 110.415,402. PatentedNov. 19, 1889.

FIG

MW BY emc my NA PETERS. Pholvumomvwr, washington. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY AIKEN, OF HOMESTEAD, ASSIGNOR TO OARNEGIE, PHIPPS & FOM- IANY,(LIMITEDQ OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF AXLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,402, dated November19, 1889.

Application Elec December 24, 1888. Serial No. 294,497. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY AIKEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Homestead, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Axles, of whichimprovements the following is a specification.

-In an application, No. 291,371,`filed Novem- Io ber 20, 1888, I havedescribed and claimed certain improvements in the manufact ure ofrailway-car axles, wherein ablank of suitable length and of adiameterapproximately equal to the diameter of the axle to be producedat its smallest part is suitably shaped by pressure applied to the endsof the blank, thereby reducing the blank in length and enlarging certainportions near the ends thereof.

The invention described herein relates to certain improvements inapparatus employed in carrying out the method described in theapplication above referred to.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of my improved apparatus. Fig. 2 isa top plan view of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken inthe plane indicated by the line se fr, Fig. 2, the dies being shownclosed in Fig. 3 and open in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 is asectional View of thecrosshead, taken on the plane indicated by the line y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 6is a View in elevation of the` blank. Fig. 7 is a similar view of thecompleted axle, and Fig. S is a sectional view of a modified form ofapparatus.

In the practice of my invention the casting 1 is arranged upon asuitable foundation, as shown in Fig. 1. In the upper side of thiscasting is made a longitudinal recess forming jaws 2, having their innerfaces inclined toward each other from end to end., as shown in Fig. 2.Between the jaws are placed dies 8, having their meeting faces recessed,as at 4, said recesses being constructed to form, when the dies areplaced together, a matrix corresponding as to shape and dimensions tothe axle to be formed. These dies 3 are moved toward and away from eachother by means of the sectional wedges 5 and 6, said wedges beingarranged between the dies and the jaws 2, and connected to said dies bymeans of lugs 7, engaging grooves formed in the upper and lower faces ofthe dies, as shown in Figs. S and 4. In order to insure a separation ofthe wedges and with them of the dies when the former are shiftedlongitudinally outward, as hereinafter described, said wedges areprovided with tongues 8, engaging' grooves 9 formed in the casting 1 parallel with the faces of the jaws 2, and the sec 6o tions forming eachwedge are connected together in order to insure simultaneous lateralmovements of both sections by means of tongues 10 and grooves 11, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4. The grooves 9 and 11 should be 65: made somewhatwider than the tongues S and 10, and so located with reference to thejaws 2 as to prevent the lateral thrust of the wedges being takenlu p bythe tongues rather than the jaws 2. The wedges are held in po- 7o sitionas against vertical movement by the plates l2, bolted to the jaws 2 andextending over the wedges, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 1L. Each wedge isprovided at one end with a shank 13, extending through the cross-head 1tand connected by a pin 15 to the pistonrod 16 ot the fluid-pressurecylinder 17, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5. A

The dies are provided in their meeting faces at the ends of the matricesproper with So circular grooves for the reception of the excess oflength at each end of the biank, as hereinafter stated, and also topermit of the movement ofthe plungers 18 and 19 in the upset-tingoperation, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The plunger 18 is secured to the piston 20 of the Huid-pressure cylinder2l, arranged with its axis in line with the plunger 18, and on oppositesides of the cylinder 21 are placed 9o the fluid-pressure cylinders 22.The pistonrods 23 of said cylinders extend through passages in oppositesides of the casting 1 to the cross-head 14, and to this cross-head isattached the plunger 19, as shown in Figs. 2 95 and 5. The cylinders 22are so proportioned as to their diameters that the power exerted by saidcylinders shall equal that exerted by thecylinder 21, so that when saidcylinders are operating on a blank through the medium Ico of theplungers 18 and 19 the power exerted by cylinders 22 shallcounterbalance that exerted by the large cylinder 21.

In order to insure practically simultaneous action of each cylinder, thefluid-pressure-conducting pipes from each cylinder are connected tocommon supply-pipes 24 and 25, leading to the valve mechanism 26, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As stated in the application hereinbefore referred to, the blank d isreduced by rolling or forging to a unif'orm diameter throughout itsentire length, such diameter being equal, or practically so, to thediameter of the axle to be made at its smallest part. The blank shouldexceed the length of the desired axle by an amount sufficient to supplythe metal necessary for the required enlargements of the blank near itsends, as shown in Fig. 7, such enlargements forming the neck h,wheelseat c, journal d, and collar e. After being properly heated theblank is placed between the dies,which are then closed by the wedgesactuated by the cylinder 17. The blank having been firmly grasped by thedies, fluidpressure is admitted to the cylinders 21 and 22, therebyforcing the plungers 18 and 19 inward, upsetting the ends of the blankand causing` portions to expand outward and fill the matrix of the dies.The plungers are then retracted, the dies opened by moving the wedgesoutwardly in a longitudinal direction, as hereinbefore stated, thecompleted axle removed, and another blank inserted.

In order to facilitate the removal of the axle and the placing of ablank in position between the dies, a uid-pressure cylinder 27 isarranged beneath the casting 1, and on the cross-head 28, carried by thepiston-rod 29 of said cylinder, bars or rods 30 are secured. These rods30 pass up through openings in the casting l., as shown in Figs. 1, 3,and al., said openings being arranged in a vertical plane passingthrough the parting-line of the dies 8.

On the upper ends of the rods 30 are placed crutches, consisting of ashank or stem 31 and a concave head 32. The shank and head areconstructed so as to have the one a firm bearing on the bottom of therecess in the casting and the other on the bottom of a recess formed inthe dies for the reception of the crutches when lowered. By means ofthese crutches the finished axle can be raised sufficient-ly high topermit of its being rolled or pushed to one side. A blank is then placedon the crutches and lowered into position for being grasped by the dies.

If desired, any lettering or other mark which is to be placed on theaxle can be cut in reverse on the concave surfaces of the head 32, andthe metal of the blank will be forced into said mark or lettering by theupsetting operation, as will be readily understood.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the stem 31 of the crutch rests upon thebottom of the recess in the casting, and hence during the upsettingoperation hereinbefore described and consequent expansion of portions ofthe blank the crutch will act as an anvil and there will bean upwardpressure exerted upon the dies proportional to the area of the heads'32and the expansive force of the metal. All tendency to displacement ofthe dies by reason of this upwardly-acting force is counterbalanced bythe fluid-pressure cylinder 27, acting through the heads 32, whichengage shoul-v ders in thefdies, as hereinbefore described.

As shown in Fig. 8, t-he apparatus may be modified so as to operate uponone end of the blank at a time. In this single apparatus, as I prefer toterm it, the shaping-dies are made so as to inclose only about half theblank and only one plunger is employed in the upsetting operation. Thedies are opened and closed by means of wedges, as in the doubleapparatus, said Wedges being Y provided with shanks sufficiently longand arranged at such a distance apart that the fluid-pressure cylinderemployed for operating the plunger may be arranged between said shanks.

In order to insure the proper adjustment of both ends of the blankwithin the dies, I provide a stop 33, so located as to properly adjustthe blank within the dies for the first upsetting operation. As thisupsetting operation shortens the blank considerably, I provide a slidingblock 34C, which can be moved across the face of the stop 33 into linewith ,the axis of the dies by means of the lever 35.

This block is made of a thickness equal to the amount of reductioneffected by the first upsetting operation, and after one end of theblank has been shaped the blank is removed from the dies, the block 34moved into position, and the opposite end of the blank placed in thedies, the end of the blank previously operated on resting against theblock 34.

I claim herein as my invention- 1. In an apparatus for the manufactureof' axles, the combination of separable dies having in their adjacentfaces recesses suitably shaped for the formation of wheel-seats,journal, and collars on the end of a blank, and a plunger operativeagainst the end of a blank held by said dies, whereby said blank isreduced in length and expanded laterally to iill the recesses,Isubstantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for the manufacture of axles, the combination ofseparable dies having in their adjacent faces recesses suitably shaped'for the formation of `wheel-seats,

v journals, and collars on the ends of a blank,

and plungers operative in opposite directions against the ends of ablank held by said dies, whereby said blank is reduced in length andportions thereof expanded laterally to lillthe recesses in the dies,substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus for the manufacture of axles, the combination ofstationary jaws, separable dies located between said jaws, wedgesinterposed between the jaws and dies and adapted to open and close thelatter, and plungers operative inv opposite directions against the endsof a blank held by said dies, substantially as set forth.

IIO

l. In an apparatus for the manufacture of axles, the combination ofseparable dies having their meeting faces recessed to form a matrix, andcrutches movable transversely of the matrix and having their facesforming a part of said matrix, substantially as set forth.

5. In an apparatus for the manufacture of axles, the combination ofseparable dies, plungers operative on the ends of the blank held by saiddies, crutches movable transversely of t-he dies and having their headsarranged in recesses in the dies, and a fluidpressure cylinder foroperating said crutches, substantially as set forth.

6. In an apparatus for the manufacture of axles, the combination ofstationary jaws, separable dies arranged between said jaws, andsectional wedges arranged between the dies and jaws and interlocking`with the dies, substantially as set forth.

7. In an apparatus for the manufacture of axles, the combination ofstationary jaws, separable dies located between said jaws, Wedgesarranged between the dies and jaws, and a fluid-pressure cylinder foroperating the wedges, substantially as set forth.

8. In an apparatus for the manufacture of axles, the combination ofseparable dies, plunger-s for operating on the opposite ends of a blankheld by the dies, and Huid-press ure cylinders located at one end ot'the dies, one of the cylinders having its piston-rod connected to one ofthe plungers, the other cylinders having their rods connected throughsuitable mechanism to the other plunger, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY AIKEN.

Witnesses:

R. H. WHITTLEsEY, DARWIN S. WoLooTT.

